214 BRITISH BIRDS. 



troublesome to the cows, the sheep, and the horses. Its actions are pre- 

 cisely similar to those of the other Wagtails. It possesses the same active 

 movements, its tail is also incessantly beating up and down, and it runs 

 about with the same marvellous speed, and repeatedly flies into the air 

 to catch passing insects. It is not at all a shy bird, and shows great agility 

 in picking insects from the tall grass-stems, often fluttering up to the top 

 of a stalk to take them from a flower. 



The Yellow Wagtail follows the plough with as much perseverance as 

 the Rook, often approaching within a yard of the ploughman, running up 

 and down over the rugged upturned ground, every now and then taking 

 a short flight to another part of the field, where its useful labours are 

 resumed. It is not at all of a wandering disposition, and when once it 

 makes its appearance on a pasture it usually remains there until its 

 broods are safely reared. It often alights in trees ; but is not so frequently 

 seen on the roofs of buildings, for it seems to prefer the open fields rather 

 than the neighbourhood of houses, although I have often seen it near 

 country railway-stations. 



The song of the Yellow Wagtail is a short and lively little strain, some- 

 thing like that of the Pied Wagtail. Dixon thus writes of it : " In the 

 breeding- season this bird is occasionally heard to sing. Only occa- 

 sionally is his melody given forth. No morning or evening lay escapes 

 from this Wagtail, and his notes are uttered seemingly in sudden outbursts 

 of gladness. Suddenly, and as it were by resistless impulse, he soars from 

 the meadow-grass, and, fluttering in the air, warbles a delightful strain 

 and alights, probably to remain silent for days ere another thrill of glad- 

 ness causes him to carol forth anew." Its call-note is a double one, a 

 shrill and sharply-uttered chit -up. This note is almost invariably uttered 

 as the bird takes wing. The flight of the Yellow Wagtail is, like that of 

 all the Wagtails, very undulating, performed in large and equal curves; 

 and when the bird alights it usually spreads out its tail like a fan. 



The Yellow Wagtail pairs annually, a little after its arrival in spring. 

 It is, however, possible that many pairs never separate ; for some often 

 return yearly to their old haunts, and the pairing which takes place in 

 spring may be confined to the young birds, or to those that have lost their 

 mates. It is rather an early breeder, and the nests destined for the use of 

 the first broods are usually made by the middle or third week in April, 

 and the young birds may often be noticed abroad by the latter end of May. 

 The nest is always built upon the ground, generally in a well-sheltered 

 situation, and concealed by a clod of turf or a clump of herbage. Some- 

 times it is built in the tall grass at the foot of a rough stone wall 

 bordering a grain-field ; at others it is on a mossy bank gay with spring 

 flowers, and clothed with a luxuriant growth of herbage. The materials 

 of which the nest is composed vary according to the locality ; externally 



